Double Indemnity, Baby

In your mind, are there any heroes in Double Indemnity? If so, who?

Double Indemnity is a 1944 American film noir that is about the story of an insurance salesman, Walter Neff, and his place in a murderous game involving the Dietrichson family.

Walter came to the Dietrichson home one afternoon to renew their insurance policy, but was instantly attracted to Mrs. Dietrichson, Phyllis. As Phyllis and Walter discussed insurance plans while Mr. Dietrichson was not home, the topic of an 'accident insurance' for her husband came up. Walter was an experienced and smart salesman, so he immediately noticed that this insurance policy would be made intending for the death of Mr. Dietrichson, because she would receive money from it. At first, Walter refused to help her in the murder of her husband, but when she explained how abusive he was, and how unhappy she was with him, he agreed. Together, they tricked Mr. Dietrichson into signing the accident insurance policy. This policy insured Dietrichson's life for $50,000, but if Mr. Dietrichson's death was deemed to be an accident, then this price would be doubled. In the eyes of Phyllis, this amount of money was enough to make her kill her husband,and free herself from him. And for Walter, this amount of money was enough for him to help her, so he can also have her to himself. Walter and Phyllis carried through with an elaborate plan of murdering Mr. Dietrichson, then staging it so that it looked like Mr. Dietrichson had fallen off of the train that he was taking to attend a college reunion, and falling to his death. However, certain people, such as Walter's boss Mr. Keyes, had suspicions about this "accident" and felt that it was not actually an accident. But in the end, both Walter and Phyllis ended up shot. Phyllis shot Walter in the shoulder first, then Walter responded by taking the gun and shooting her twice, killing her, and Mr. Keyes found out the truth about Walter and this murder.

Now, with this summary of the film 'Double Indemnity' is it possible to identify any heroes?

From an outside perspective, there is no single hero. Everyone in this film noir committed an act that was unethical or unmoral based upon our societies ethics, morals, and values, and most actions were made upon greed. However, each character in this film views some one else as their personal hero.

For example, Phyllis views Walter as a hero. Walter aided her in the murder of her husband because he knew she wasn't happy with him. Her husband was a drunk, who was both oppressive and controlling. Walter tricked her husband into signing the accident insurance policy, which meant that when he was killed Phyllis would receive the money from his death. Phyllis viewed Walter's willingness to help her in the murder as an heroic act, and she loved him for that. Walter also did other "heroic" things that made him more of a hero to her. He created the great alibi for the two of them, so when the murder is revealed to the town the two of them wouldn't be suspected, and he was also able to fix her car after the murder was committed when they were trying to drive away. Walter is her hero in the film noir. However, Mrs. Dietrichson was not his hero. Even though Walter loved her, she was not a hero because her intentions with the accident insurance policy were selfish, greedy, and she was manipulative.

But Walter did not feel like a hero in this situation. Walter had a feeling that everything would go wrong, and his nerves were pulling him to pieces, especially after his boss began confessing about his suspicions that the murder was no accident and he believed it to be an act of murder committed by Phyllis and her lover. Walter was going to drive himself insane, and after the murder he, "couldn't hear his footsteps..." (Double Indemnity). This phrase said in the film noir directly correlates to the story of Macbeth after Macbeth's first murder and he, "couldn't even say amen..." (Macbeth). Even though Walter's actions were not stereo typically heroic, he was still viewed as a hero by most characters in the film, for example Mr. Keyes, and Phyllis's daughter Lola.

Mr. Keyes views the man that was "last to see Mr. Dietrichson on the train..." (Double Indemnity) as a hero, because he holds the knowledge that could lead Keyes to making a conclusion about his suspicions. But neither man performs an heroic act. Mr. Keyes also views Walter as a hero because Walter is one of his best insurance salesmen. As for Lola, her hero could be both her boyfriend that she loves, and also Walter because she can talk to him about anything.

This American film noir is a deceiving film that includes lies, and murders, and with that there could not possibly be any overall heroes that match the heroic standards of our society today. Even though Walter was viewed as a hero by most characters in the film for different reasons, his actions were neither ethical nor moral, so there is still no identifiable hero who includes all of the characteristics of a typical hero by today's standards.